Page 78 of Brick Wall
Sebastian
My teammates thought it would be funny to bring a whiteboard to my place with a lot of irrelevant (to me) plays since I sometimes fall asleep when Coach writes them. Jokes on them, though, because this whiteboard is coming in handy right now.
I turned this massive whiteboard into my own Women’s Volleyball Championship bracket. It’s like March Madness but it’s December Madness, volleyball style.
I’ve been keeping track of the games and figuring out where CHU stands. I hid the whiteboard in a guest room when Annie comes over so she doesn’t see this craziness, but she’s away in Kentucky until the tournament is over.
Chestnut Hill University has made it to the semifinals for the first time. They easily won against Delaware State in the first round and then had an upset against highly ranked Penn State. They moved onto regionals the following weekend in Wisconsin, winning against two more teams.
It’s a huge accomplishment, and my woman is a big reason why. I’m so proud of her and all she’s accomplished in just a few short years as their head coach. Annie is truly amazing.
There’s a knock on the door and I yell “come in” from my living room. Cal enters with a few teammates. I invited some guys from the team over tonight, mostly the guys from the O-Line and other teammates that are up for anything. It’s probably why Feet is in my kitchen now, stealing snacks from my upper cabinets.
I saw most of these guys less than two hours ago at work and now they are over to watch the semifinals with me.
A few guys at the end of practice asked if I wanted to go out tonight or do something, and I mentioned my plans. Next thing I know, I have a dozen teammates in my living room eating my homemade guacamole. Life is weird sometimes.
“Oh, there she is!” one of the guys yells when they show Annie on the TV like they’ve seen no one they know on TV before. Most of these guys have met or at least heard about Annie at this point.
“She looks ready,” Cal says, putting a hand over my shoulder. He probably can feel how nervous I am for her, but I’m also so proud of her.
Making it to the semifinals, Top Four, is a huge fucking deal. I’m bummed that I couldn’t fly out to Louisville to be with her and see the tournament live. Unfortunately, we have a game in Denver on Sunday, so attending the game tonight was not a viable option.
CHU is playing a college they haven’t played yet this season, Texas, and they are good. I even watched game tape with Annie this week, and I hate watching tape. However, I really didn’t mind. Volleyball is enjoyable to watch.
Also, Annie doesn’t replay the same play five different times and dissect it to pieces like my head coach does. Okay, sometimes she does, but she’s a lot cuter than my coach. (Don’t tell my coach, though.)
More guys enter the apartment and join us. My apartment is loud. The guys are chitchatting about this and that, and I just want to sit in complete silence watching the game. I kind of regret inviting them all over.
CHU won the first set, but they are losing the second. They are down by five, and Texas is close to winning this one.
Annie subs out a player and I start to grab my phone off the coffee table, but Cal sees me and snatches my phone up first.
He gives me a death stare and silently stuffs my phone in his jean pocket.
“I wasn’t going to text her,” I mumble under my breath, but Cal still hears my comment.
“Sure, buddy,” is what he responds with, and pats me on my knee.
I get up because I’m too anxious. I need to move. I head over to the fridge and grab more snacks and throw some crackers onto a tray with some cheese.
When I look back on the screen, the match is over, and Texas and CHU are tied 1–1, with each winning a set so far.
Matches are played as best-of-five-set series, so whoever wins three sets will move on to the Championship game on Sunday.
I quietly watch the next set, but Texas wins it fairly easily, and now they are up by one. If they win the next set, they will move on.
I sometimes hate watching sports. I’d rather be on the field instead and do everything I can to control the game in myfavor. It’s frustrating to watch a game as a fan. How do people do this? I have no control over the outcome, especially now, since Calvin took my phone.
The game keeps going back and forth, and neither team takes a huge lead, always keeping the score within two. CHU is down by one, the score 20–19, but Annie makes a few subs. Her girls take the lead, and the momentum switches. They never lose their lead, and they make it to twenty-five first with Texas trailing by four. CHU wins the match, calling for a fifth and final game. Whoever wins this match, moves on to the finals.
The rules for the fifth set are a little different. The fifth set is played to fifteen points, instead of twenty-five.
I start to sweat and I open the window. A lot of fancy tall apartment complexes in Boston don’t have windows you can open. It was one of the perks of living here. It’s an older building, but still nice, and I can open a dang window when I want. It doesn’t open all the way, but it’s nice to get a little air in this place. I tend to run hot as it is.
The last set starts, and my place is the quietest it has been all night. All my teammates are into the game, and all prior volleyball questions have been asked and answered. We keep watch, as the game keeps volleying back between teams. This game is intense. There’s a reason why both teams are in the Top Four. They deserve to be here.
The game is tied at thirteen, and I’m exhausted just watching.
